There are many commercial options for obtaining water enhanced with vitamins and minerals. However, these options contribute to the production and waste of plastic and glass bottles. In addition, there is no simple delivery system available for dispensing enhanced drinking water and/or enhanced water for the cultivation of plants which can be easily coupled to existing water supplies such as potable water supplies and home reverse osmosis systems commonly found across the world. A challenge faced in providing a system for use in a non-commercial environment is that many enhancement elements possess a high water solubility level, which if not processed properly could result in a product with an unhealthy level of dissolved solute. Another challenge faced in introducing an enhancing element such as vitamins into water, may be the creation of water with an acidic pH. Acidic vitamins such as Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can be ingested in relatively large dosages without causing harm to human health, but without correct metering into the water, the water may take on an unpleasantly sour taste, cause indigestion, and impact the integrity of metallic system components from exposure to the low (acidic) pH solution.
Another challenge created by the prospect of adding high water solubility elements to a water stream without metering, is a rapid and uncontrolled depletion of the source media. For example, in an unmetered device, a pound of Vitamin C could be dissolved in about a gallon of water. An additional challenge is to ensure that the water to be enhanced is sufficiently pure. Without proper filtering, a number of unpleasant compounds may form as result of exposure to the enhancing element. For example, when chlorinated tap water is mixed with Vitamin C, the chlorine is neutralized but hydrochloric acid (HCL) is formed.